by Lucy Langton
He had summoned Gregory and Elizabeth to join him in searching Miss Bryn’s chambers.
They lifted her bags and sheets, searching for any evidence that could pin her to the poison on Lady Beatrice’s case.
For over an hour, their search proved futile.
“I found it!” Elizabeth exclaimed, holding a small black bottle in her hand. She had found it inside a part of Rachel’s bag. She had to admit the lady’s craftiness was really thorough, but truth always has a way of prevailing against evil.
“This is the poison she used for Lady Beatrice. I had always known the woman was evil, but this is quite insane,” she added reading the label on the bottle and the warnings.
“Let’s go; this is all the evidence we need,” George ordered leading them to the Baron’s office.
***
Rachel walked to the Baron’s office, overwhelmed with excitement; her plan worked. She was very certain that the Baron had called her to his office to tell her about the wedding plans. She could already imagine it. she would be called Lady Rachel, all these servants would be serving her soon, and Isabel? She would have been long gone by then.
Life was amazing for people like her; all her hard work finally paid off.
“My Lord, you wanted to see me?” she said, batting her eyes as she swayed her hips while walking into the office.
“Miss Bryn, can you tell me what this is?” the Baron said, pointing at the bottle George had already brought up for him earlier.
“A bottle,” she said twirling a lock of hair with her finger.
“It’s poison, you witch! We found it in your bags. You tried to poison my sister!”
“How dare you accuse me of such? I did no such thing!”
“Your lies will not save you this time, Rachel,” George said from the back of the chair.
“It is your fault! You and that wretched sister of yours conspired against me! I am pregnant with your child, and you dare to believe I would bring harm to you and your sister! This is preposterous!”
“Another lie that will not save you, my dear,” Elizabeth said, “you just had your monthly course this month; it is impossible for you to be pregnant at this time.”
“You rat! I did not do anything! I am innocent!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
A knock interrupted the scene that was beginning to unfold.
“My Lord, Lady Beatrice has awoken from her slumber,” the small stable girl said peeping into the room; he remembered her to be the gardener’s daughter. “She requests to see you.”
“Oh thank goodness!” he said letting out a sigh of relief.
“Go to your sister, My Lord. I will send word to the inspector for an arrest. I will handle everything from here.”
“I am indebted to you, George, thank you.” He stood up and pulled him in for a brotherly hug.
“What are friends for, now go on.”He smiled, waving him off.
He adjusted his coat and made an attempt at arranging his already dishevelled hair while he dashed towards his sister’s room.
“Beatrice,” he called, falling to his knees at the side of her bed. “My you had me in distress, thank goodness you’re okay.” He took her hands and pressed a kiss to them.
“Oh brother, I’m a fighter remember?” she said, managing a small laugh for his sake.
He noticed how thinner her fame had become, and how hollow her eyes were. He made a promise to himself to personally oversee her feeding for the next few weeks.
“How do you feel? You have been sleeping for the past two days now. I was afraid I was going to lose you.”
“I feel wonderful, My Lord, although my throat is quite scratchy and my body aches, nothing I cannot quite fuss about.”
“I shall see to it that you get a massage, some food and well-needed rest my dear, do not worry.”
“Alright brother. Where is Isabel, I thought I heard her in my sleep earlier.
“She probably left for a while; she will be back soon, I hope.”
“Well of course she will, she’s my friend, and she’s my sister.”
“Hmm, have some water dear, don’t bother yourself, just get a much-needed rest, I assume you will be terribly tired right now,” he said handing her a cup of water.
“Thank you. Now tell me what happened; sleeping for almost two days was enough rest for now, I believe.” She could always sense when he was trying to hide something from her. “What happened while I was asleep?”
“Nothing Beatrice, nothing at all. Get some rest okay? I will have the physician come take a look at you again,” he said standing up and walking towards the door.
“Of course you will bring him over then vanish again. I wish Father were here.” It was a painful subject to talk about, but at least she knew it would bring him to talk to her.
“I know, I miss them too. Mother was always so caring, and Father always knew what to do in times like this,” he said with a pause, summoning up all the courage he had to look her in the face as he continued, “I have failed you, my dear. I could not realise that the problem was caused by someone I trusted.”
“What do you mean?”
“The diagnosis says you have been poisoned, and we found the bottle in Miss Rachel’s room.”
“I always knew that woman was up to no good. Bloody wretch. I should have raised the alarm earlier.”
“I am sorry. I did not do a good job of taking good care of you like I promised my father.”
“You are doing your best, William, and your best is good enough for me,” she said pulling him into a hug.
It seemed as though Isabel’s bold nature was starting to rub off on her too, and he missed her all the more for that.
He was not sure if she would ever forgive him or comeback to him, but he was going to try.
“How is Isabel? I’m quite surprised I haven’t seen her,” Beatrice asked curiously, setting down the cup on the table beside her.
“She is furious with me.”
“How come?”
He sighed, dreading the fact that he had to tell his sister everything but realising he needed someone to talk to about his problems.
“When you could not wake up, I was terribly devastated. I was not sure what to think or do. I thought it was all my fault, that I should have taken care of you better and prevented it from happening, but Isabel gave me hope, she said you were still breathing and although that was not what I wanted to hear, I held on to that strand of hope in your life. The only thing giving me peace was that she was there, and that was my only strength.
“Then Miss Bryn came into my chambers and said Isabel poisoned you. I did not believe it at all, but the logic was strong, and I could not but turn a blind eye to it. I just had to be sure because this woman was already driving me insane.” He threw his hands up for emphasis.
“Isabel would never do such a thing. She could barely hurt a fly even!”
“I know, I thought the same thing too, but I still needed to ask questions. It was your life; I could not have you depart and allow your killer to roam free. So I asked her, more like accused her of doing it. She was offended, but I pleaded with her to forgive me, and she did. Then not long after Miss Bryn came in and claimed to be pregnant with my child. I knew I lost her when that news came in, and Isabel fainted, that was when her brother came in with the physician and took over the investigation of both crimes.”
“I always knew there was something about that woman, thank God she has been caught, but what about Miss Isabel? Have you told her?”
“No, I’m afraid it would not matter anymore. She hates me; all my mistakes keep coming back. I can never be free from my dangerous habits.”
“Of course you can. She loves you, My Lord. She does, and she will forgive you because that is what love is about.”
“Hmm…How do you know so much about love, young one?”
“I read, you should do that sometime,” she teased.
“I’ll have you know, I am quite a voracious reader
mind you.”
“Of course you are, and I sing in the opera.”
They laughed at her sarcasm as he took his seat again.
“I hope to find love someday like you did with Miss Isabel.”
“You will have to leave your room every once in a while for that to happen,” he teased.
“Of course I would. At some point, I thought I was going to die, and there was nothing to look back on, nothing exciting, just you and Isabel. My wish is to live William, smell the flowers, travel around the world, and ride a horse too.”
“Why that is quite wonderful; I’ll see to it as soon as you have fully recovered.”
“Thank you brother, now go and make things right with Isabel.”
The fear in his eyes made her laugh. “She will not bite you, My Lord, now the truth has been exposed. Miss Bryn will be punished accordingly, and she will not allow this to come in between both of you.”
“You are right; pray luck will be on my side.”
“Love will be enough.”
He stopped at the door before leaving. “You know you are quite a smart one.”
“Why thank you, My Lord,” she said with her nose in the air.
He walked out of the room to do what he knew he should have done a long time ago.
Chapter 25
He stood in front of her door, shaking in his boots and rehearsing what he was going to say to her. For the first time in a long time, he wished his father was here to tell him what to say to her; he always knew the right things to say in every situation. He took a deep breath in and knocked half hoping some sort of miracle would send the fear away. He knocked again before pushing the door open after not receiving a response.
She was always a breathtaking sight; he did not know how but his breath hung in his throat when his eyes beheld her, the mass of red hair was set free from the scarf she had on earlier, framing her face as she sat on the bed in her dress with her feet close to her chest. Her frame looked smaller compared to the way she looked in the morning.
The smell of her room reminded him of their night of passion; the memory was strong, most definitely the best he had ever had, never had a woman driven him wild like she did, or touched his heart of concern at the same time. He wondered what he would say first to break the silence, but she was a step ahead of him.
“What do you seek, My Lord?” she asked without moving an inch or turning to face him.
“Lady Beatrice is awake,” he said, scratching the back of his head. Suddenly he felt like a young lad trying to woo a woman.
“Thank goodness! I will go to see her,” she said standing up. Despite the mixed feelings she harboured towards the Baron, she still loved his sister, and this news brought some sort of hope to her gloomy world.
She pushed her hair to the back with her hands and tied it with a band while walking towards her door.
She stopped when she felt his hand on her shoulder.
“Rachel is not pregnant,” he started, “and the poison was found in her room. Your brother has sent word to the Inspector; she will be arrested, and justice will prevail.”
“That is also good news, My Lord, I am glad. If I may, I wish to see Lady Beatrice now,” she said, pushing his hands off her shoulder.
During this period she had taken time to think about her relationship with the Baron. A man of an ignoble reputation was not one her parents would have wished for her. She needed a man with integrity and a good reputation. Even if Rachel had been lying, how many others could have been telling the truth considering how many women he had already bedded in the past? Was this how her matrimonial home would look like if they were to become united in Holy Matrimony? The thoughts had gone in and out of her head for a good portion of the day, and she came to a conclusion she knew would be best for both of them; she would leave the house as soon as Lady Beatrice had fully recovered.
“Isabel please,” his voice trembled at the thought of losing her once again. “Forgive me.”He could not hold himself anymore; he pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to hers.
Her initial struggle frightened him until she melted into the kiss. The softness of her lips in between his teeth was just as nerve-wracking as their tongues danced with one another. Their bodies moved in sync as their hearts beat as one. His hands had a firmer grip on her waist, pulling her to his chest almost in a bid to make their bodies one.
“I love you, Isabel Montgomery,” he sighed against her lips like a prayer.
She stopped and gradually eased away. “We can’t be together.”
“Why is that?” Her words stopped him in his tracks. “You don’t feel the same way?”
“Oh no, My Lord, I do, but we are not right for one another. I do not know if I can keep up with the women you bedded coming to my matrimonial home claiming they carry your heir. Miss Bryn might just be the first of many.”
His head was bowed in shame as she ran out of the room unable to stare at his face again.
***
She ran to the only place she knew she could seek refuge from the tears that kept running down her face. Her heart ached with the decision she had made, but she consoled herself by telling herself that she made the right decision despite how wrong it felt.
Bursting into Lady Beatrice’s room, she dried her tears for her sake and fringed a smile.
“My Lady, you’re awake,” she said running over to her side and giving her a hug.
“I have been waiting for you, my angel. Now I feel better already.
“That is great news, but not in this dark room,” she said walking over to the curtains and pulling them apart. “When will you ever learn to leave the curtains open?”
“When I decide to roll in hay.”
“Perhaps the antidote you were given touched your sarcasm bone My Lady,” she replied with a laugh.
“I guess it did.” She laughed. “You’re unhappy, Isabel.”
“How could I be unhappy when you are recovering from this terrible illness?”
“I beg of you Isabel, do not lie to me,” she warned. “It’s my brother, is it not?”
She nodded, fighting the tears that threatened to fall.
“What happened?”
With that question Isabel told her everything.
“…I love him, but I do not know if we can be together. What if more women come, claiming to have his heir?”
“I understand your fear my dear, but he loves you greatly, and you love him as well. If there is anything almost dying has taught me, it is to take the chances while we still have time. As long as both of you love one another, no matter the storm that passed, you will stand firm.”
“But is love enough?”
“Yes Isabel, love is enough. And if you let it guide you, despite the dark days you will endure, happiness will always spring forth. So dry your tears my darling, follow your heart.”
“The antidote really brings out a different you,My Lady; you would make a wonderful poet.”
“I would wouldn’t I? I intend to write more soon. I want to live more.”